St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-06-27
Five Acres of Ground Burned Over.
The Number and Size of the
Buildings Burned.
Seven Hundred Of 5000 Hogs Lose
Their Lives Before the Time Ap-
pointed for Their Killing.
fhe Terrible Death of Four Persons al
the Burning of Tenement House
in London.

to-day. Early this morning one of the
employees of the Chicago Packing and
Preserving company discovered Il fire i'll
the tank room. In few moments one of
the tanks exploded and scattered burn
ing lard over the adjacent buildings,
and dozen separate fires were soon
competing with each other in the de-
Struction of the immense establishment.
Though the fire was put out this even
ing, fourteen and one-half hours after it
started, the Smoulderlng embers con-
tinued to laden the air with the fumes of
roast pork. and tive-acre oven will re-
main on the premises, red hot, for at
least a couple of days. The Chicago
Packing and Preserving cOmpany'S
works occupy about six acres of ground,
but the fire was kept within. the district
bounded by Fortieth street, Center ave-
nue., Twelfth street and the railroad
tracks, a block west of Center avenue.
This territory contained
FOUR LARGE BUILDINGS.
The main building was 3G0X475 feet.
and the hanging, cutting, packing, cur
ing and other work incidental to a
curing establishment. Except the cur
ing-in room, in which were 19,GQ0, 900
pounds of short ribs, the main building
andsitS contents are a total loss. The
curing room, 100X150 feet. and four. ySto-
ries high, lost its roof, but stone fire
walls saved its contents, portion of
them in roasted condition. On the
east side was the warehouse, 120X4G0
feet, with four stories and basement.
The two upper floors at the south end
were used for killing purposes. In the
warehouse were 17,G00 barrels of mess
pork belonging to Armour d Company.
The building and much of the pork was
wholly destroyed. About 5000 live hogs
were in the building when the fire
started, but the company'S employees
succeeded in getting most ofsthem out.
Between 600 and 700 hogs were burned
in the building. Back of the building
was the fertillzing factory, 100 feet
square, and the engine house, 50X65
feet. Both structures were burned
completely.
NO WIND BLOWING.
The fact that no wind was blowing
when the fire started was probably the
only circumstance that saved the entire
stock yards from destruction. No per-
son seems to know the origin of the fire.
Several saw the blaze simultaneously
as it went through the roof of the tank
house, The flames began to rapidly eat
ing. Though the fire department was
quickly at the scene. the fire
had gained volume that no amount
Of water could reduce. Huge sweeping
circles of flames were whirling upward
with roar that could be heard for
blocks. Twenty engines and every
reservoir in the yards were soon brought
into play. All efforts of the firemen
and hundreds of stock yards employees
were bent toward keeping the contiagra
ton confined to the works of the Chicago
company. 1t was at this juncture, while
one little squad of firemen was
standing in freight car playing on the
burning tank room, the tanks exploded.
A heavy beam smashed through the roof
OF the car, smashing Pipeman Bakers
ankle and knocking Lieut.. Elliot un-
conscious. Soon afterward the walls of
the warehouse tumbled to the ground,
disclosing great heaps of mess pork. p.
d. Armour Immediately set two hum
Gred men to work to remove the meat.
Charred barrels of it were rolled out.
and carted away. The little army
tramped over huge piles of loose pork
and carried huge chunks of it out on
the railroad tracks, where itwaS thrown
in heaps. Occasionally one of the work
men would drop
A TEN-PGUND ROAST
in pool of water and splash his neigh
bOrS with a mixture of grease and mud.
TwO-wheeled carts and four-wheeled
trucks were loaded from these heaps
like garbage wagons from the gutter.
Mr.. Armour in white, stylish new
spring suit, ruefully watched the mess
of pork and cinderS being cleared away,
while his manager Cuddahy, stood on an
elevation of mess pork and superintended
the work. In the pile was carcasseS of
hogs roasted whole. Charred bod
les, shriveled into shapeless masses
of cinderS, We're mingled with
Z piles of brick, blackened beams and in
cinerated barrels. After the flames had
consumed most of the woodwork of the
buildings, the fire still held sway in the
great piles of burning meats. A
smoke, thick with the fumes of tons of
roasting pork, rolled over the stock
pens and drove into the eyes of the fire
men. Falling walls filled the air with
particles of brick dust, binding and
suffocating the men. They were at
times compelled to leave their hose and
plunge their heads into buckets of
water. Then they bound handkerchiefs
dipped in water Oh
THEIR SWOLLEN EYELIDS
or bathed their blistered cheeks with
dirty water. Perhaps the most exciting
scene of the day was presented when
the men who were attempting to drive
through the covered runwayS the live
hogs were forced by the flames to de-
SiSt, Below we're scores of wOrkmen
rolling out barrels of pork. Down on
the crowd pell-mell leaped dozens of
the affrighted animals that had jumped
from the windows or sprang through
the open hatchways. The men who had
braved the flames fled from the falling
hogs and at distance watched
for glimpses of the squealing brutes
that, craZed with pain, were rushing
madly about in their hall prison of fire.
About 200 barrels of pork were saved
before the hogs commenced jumping.
During the afternoon the fremen gave
their attention to saving the short ribs
in the curing room. While number of
the men were inside the main building,
one of the division walls fell, seriously
injuring j. A. Schaeffer and Thomas
Murphy, while Capt. Nichols and
Thomas Elliott were slightly hurt. Mr..
Armour valued his 1900 barrels
of pork at $500, 1000. He said that
with the salvage and insurance he
would come out even. He was unable
to give the amount of insurance. The
plant of the Chicago Packing and Pro
vision company was valued at 100000
and the stock at $4,000. A large pOr-
ton of the stock in store belonged to
other parties, and the loss will be sus-
tanned by them. About half of the Chi
capO Packing and Provision cOmnanV'S